The artist was born in Barcelona, but moved to study in Rome, where he became heavily influenced by the portraiture of artists such as Batoni and Mengs. On his return to Spain, he became the Director of the Drawing-School of Cordova, and in 1799 a member of the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. He is best known for his church paintings, of which the majority are in Cordova, making the present picture an important survivor of his early, Roman period.